Earth Sheltered Housing

Earth Sheltered Housing - Max R. Terman

One of our most important objectives as hu­ have provided basic principles from scientific mans is to discover and pass on ways of living journals and books and summarized the expe­ with our environment. Every form of life, in­ riences of people actually living in earth shel­ cluding human, depends on nature's ability to ters. produce clean air, pure water and fertile soil In the growth and development of any field and to recycle wastes. It is our duty to live in a of knowledge, there comes a time when theory manner that enhances and preserves these nat­ requires testing, when concepts need to be re­ ural processes. Earth sheltering-the use of fined in the light of experience. Such is the case earth cover to moderate and improve living with earth sheltering. A good foundation of conditions in buildings-is an old but recently principles has been laid, mostly through the ex­ rediscovered technique. It holds much promise cellent efforts of such organizations as the Un­ for allowing us to use less energy and preserve derground Space Center of the University of more space for natural and human needs. It also Minnesota, the School of Architecture at Okla­ gives the individual and society alike a real way homa State University, and the many design to achieve self-reliance and independence from professionals active in earth sheltering. These limited sources of fossil fuels. Max R. Terman received his B. A. from Spring Arbor University and Ph. D in zoology from Michigan State University. For thirty seven years he taught biology and environmental science at Tabor College in Hillsboro, Kansas and authored many scientific articles in the field of ecology and animal behavior. An avid golfer, he researched the potential of golf courses to be wildlife habitat and more environmentally compatible. He retired in 2006 to devote more time to writing. His first book in 1985, "Earth Sheltered Housing: Principles in Practice", described the building of his solar powered earth-covered home on fifteen acres of restored prairie and introduced solutions to the looming energy crisis. In 1996, Princeton University Press published his engaging story "Messages From An Owl" about the radiotracking of a hand-reared great horned owl--for over ten years! This book reads like a novel and won wide acclaim from scientists and general readers alike. Recently, Dr. Terman used his writing skills to enter the world of an ancestor who fought in the American Civil War. "Hiram's Honor: Reliving Private Terman's Civil War" is a dramatized first person account of his great-uncle's capture at Gettysburg and amazing survival as a prisoner of war at Richmond's Belle Island and the infamous Andersonville prison camps. Dr. Terman writes as if he were Private Hiram Terman of the 82nd Ohio Infantry in this unique, amazing tale of friendship, faith, hope, and survival against incredible odds. Following in the footsteps of Hiram's Honor, one of Online College's Best Books for Studying the Civil War, Hiram's Hope: The Return of Isaiah follows Isaiah Rinehart of the 82nd Ohio after he is left for dead at Andersonville, the infamous Confederate prison festering in the war-torn back country of Georgia. Hiram's Hope tells in vivid detail how Isaiah survives, not only Andersonville but the harrowing journey to Vicksburg where he again faces death on the ill-fated, overloaded riverboat steamer Sultana. Max Terman weaves a story around this tragic explosion on the Mississippi, the Lincoln Funeral Train, a woman left at Andersonville, and a veteran's struggle to recover his life as threads in an intricate tale about the last days of the American Civil War. It is a story of men pushed beyond human limits, of survival, of faith tried and tested, and how one man helps another find hope.